And Survive
by ArcheryGirl1101
Summary: Volume 3 AU. A particular villain does not get eaten by a Griffin


**...And Survive!**

Roman wasn't sure how he was still here, no longer on the air carrier now lying on broken concrete road while Beacon was in the midst of destruction. The giant Griffon had missed, knocking himself and Red apart, diving into the ship, Roman wasn't sure how he landed successfully but he wasn't about to look this gift-horse in the mouth.

As he continued to lay still on the ground, only one thought clouded his mind; 'Where are you, Neo?'  
He lost her thanks to Red, one flick of a switch and Neo unfortunately took to the skies, her tiny body, pink and white, floating down from a parasol in the sea of Grimm made her an easy target.

That thought alone sent Roman into his rage-fuelled beating against Red, he lost whom he cared about and the threat of Cinder loomed over him and in turn, Neo.

Of course, Neo could take care of herself but only to an extent, had he not found her, saved her so long ago then Neo may not be the person she is now.

He could feel his scroll weighing awkwardly in his pocket, it somehow survived too. Picking it up he sent a message, ignoring the last image of Red he'd ever want to see.

_**-Neo, I'm on the ground. I'm near the outskirts of the city-**_  
_**-Wait for me on the highest hilltop-**_

Roman stood on jellied legs, his near-death experience taking more a toll on his body than he perceived. Melodic Cudgel was used for stability for his first few minutes of speed-walking (as best he could) until he regained his senses/

Funnily enough he heard a distant ping of a scroll, it seemed stuck on a repetitive loop, something Neo had changed in her settings so Roman knew where she was in case they were separated. Only when Roman found the scroll it was unattended, that sent his gut dropping, the screen was heavily cracked and if he squeezed hard enough Roman was sure he could snap the item in half. Neo must have dropped it.

Now with no way to contact her Roman pushed on, attempting to remember which direction Neo had been sent flying off and how he could find her from the ground, there was one location left in Roman's mind but would it still be standing?

Doubt curled around Roman's mind, Neo was fine, she HAD to be, they only had each other in this cold, unapologetic, damned world.

While ducking through broken shortcuts Roman found Neo's parasol, gripping it tight, along with Melodic Cudgel Roman practically sprinted his way across Beacon to find Neo.

Finding the building was no easy task, with a mixture of Grimm, Atlas tech going haywire, fire, and crumbling debris it was sheer luck Roman found their spot. Though to outsiders it may appear like an ordinary alley however that wasn't the case, this was the spot Roman found and met Neo, he hoped history would repeat itself. Just this once.

Whether it was his imagination or not Roman swore he could hear faint breaths of crying. Carefully poking his head around the alley, behind the trash cans was a young girl, all too familiar pink and chocolate hair, white coat and boots stained from soot, her fall and attacks Roman knelt down in front of her "Open your eyes, Kid. Can't do much else from there"

Neo froze, her head slowly extending upwards until baby blue tear-stained eyes stared back at Roman with fear he had not witnessed in such a long time "Are you hurt?" He asked quietly

A shake of the head

"Can you move?"

A single nod

"Want to get out of here?"

Another nod, more vigorous this time as she wiped her tears away.

"Good. Now, I think you'll need this" Roman handed Neo her parasol again, he was met with a growing smile, her eyes flashed green for a moment before flickering back to one pink and one brown again. He always loved

"Come on, I think we need to get out of here. We'll focus on Cinder later but right now let's just save ourselves" He grabbed her hand firmly, pulling her in what seemed like the quietest direction for now. She squeezed his hand in return, only having to break apart moments later from a spree of Grimm who caught their scent. With a tilt of a hat and release of a parasol the duo prepared for their escape.

Once managing to escape the couple turned and high-tailed Beacon out of sight and mind. Roman's nerves were still on edge about Cinder however he had Neo by his side. Together they could defeat any foe in front of them, they had done it together long enough that Roman was arrogantly confident about it. Neo sensed Roman's emotions and mirrored them effectively as they strolled away from the destruction and chaos behind them.

They had survived Beacon.


End file.
